Chapter 1

It came out of nowhere. The pulsating cascade of colours flashed before his eyes. It seemed like he was travelling in a never-ending spiral. He didn't know what was up or down. And then it suddenly stopped.

He found himself in an arena of sorts. There wasn't any audience, and his surroundings seemed very much like a forest. A Gengar was right in front of him. Knowing the incredible malice these creatures harbour towards the living, not to mention the undead themselves. It was a harbinger of destruction, its wicked smile seldom fading. It became clear to him that the Gengar wasn't aware of him, instead his attention was focused on the Nidorino charging towards it. Predictably its Horn Attack had no effect on the ethereal presence which was Gengar. Nidorino are not particularly bright. As he was facing the back of Gengar, he didn't know whether it was smiling or not, but he assumed that it was, going by all the stories told about it. The Gengar now retaliated. Whatever foul methods it was using, the attack had the appearance of the Gengar simply lashing out with its hand, paw or whatever it is towards its antagonist. Suddenly, there was a flashing light.

The incredible whiteness all around him was astounding. He walked across the seemingly endless plane, the only darkness being that of his own shadow. Another shadow emerged, and a man materialized. He thought he recognized him from somewhere else. His appearance was that of an elderly man sporting a lab coat.

"Hello, there! Glad to meet you!" the man said. "Welcome to the world of Pokémon! My name is Oak. People affectionately refer to me as the Pokémon Professor. This world…"

And here he paused, a ball with a red top and a white bottom appearing in his hand and the ball suddenly exploding into a blue and round creature with a strange tail, a sort of water balloon at the end of it.

"…is inhabited far and wide by creatures called Pokémon", the man continued. "For some people, Pokémon are pets. Others use them for battling. As for myself… I study Pokémon as a profession. But first, tell me a little bit about yourself. Now tell me. Are you a boy or a girl?"

Such a question should be redundant, he knew that. Oak didn't seem very senile, he exuded an aura of confidence and calmness, even though what he said didn't always match with his demeanour. Yet, thinking about it, he wasn't sure what gender he was. He looked down; what he saw was a confusing maelstrom of conflicting images, as if reality itself wasn't sure about it. He decided to be honest.

"I don't know", he said. Oak said nothing, and continued to stare at him with the absolute calm.

"A boy?" he said to Oak.

"Are you sure?" Oak responded.

He thought about this for one moment. "Yes", he answered, hoping the questions would stop.

"What is your name?" Oak asked.

He sighed. What was his name? A part of him, he had no idea where it came from, thought that replying "Old Man" was imperative for not upsetting the world balance. But he was as far as he knew not an old man, and 'Old Man' was a nonsensical name anyway, so he decided that part was surely wrong, since Old Man was most likely not his name. What was his name, then? Another part of him said his first name must be Red, with Bob perhaps being his middle name. He thought that was good enough for him, and answered "Red."

"Right… so your name is Red."

"Yes."

Now Oak suddenly vanished. In his place a teenager with freaky purple jeans and a spiky haircut appeared. The teenager said nothing. Much to Red's surprise, Oak's voice was now audible, but without any apparent source.

"This is my grandson. He's been your rival since you both were babies. …Erm, what was his name now?"

This was the first time Oak had broken his calm and revealed insecurity. It was odd that a man would not remember his own grandson's name. Perhaps he was senile after all. Or perhaps, and he was only freely speculating now, Oak wasn't spending enough time with his grandson. Red realized the grandson continued to stare at him as he though. Maybe it was best to say something.

"Gary?" He was thinking of Corsolabob Squarepants for some reason.

"Er, was it Gary?" Oak replied. It probably wasn't the right name, but he wanted all these questions to go away.

"Yes."

"That's right! I remember now! His name is Gary!" Oak said. He didn't sound very convincing; it seemed like he was only playing along.

"Red!" Oak shouted. Red jumped.

"Your very own Pokémon legend is about to unfold! A world of dreams and adventures awaits! Let's go!"

And then Red started to shrink and all went black. Though nobody noticed it, an Absol ran through the town. He finally woke up. It was pitch black. A creature lurked in his room. Red was petrified.

"Mime?" the creature said. Mr. Mime is a humanoid Pokémon with a white torso, on which four red ball shaped structures were attached, of which its arms and legs sprouted out of. It also had a red bulge on its belly. While the skin on its arms and legs were slightly more pale than human skin, though its hands were all white excepting the red circles on its fingertips and its black feet which looked like shoes with curves by the toes. Its head is more pear-shaped than the human cranium and has two red circles on its cheek as well as two jagged and large ears in the same colour as its feet.

Oh, it's just you, Mr. Mime, Red thought. Red was mute, but he had the power of being able to communicate with others through thought. You woke me up! Will you check the clock for me?

The night that seemed to have no intention of ending had crept across the world for a week or so now. Red had quite a lot of difficulty telling what time it is because of that. The one clock he had in his room was a digital one, and the light which shone from the red numbers on the display annoyed him to the degree he had turned it towards the wall. Mr. Mime took a closer look at the clock.

"Mime mime" Mr. Mime said. Red, having known Mr. Mime for a long time, understood the gist of what it was saying. "Too late" seemed to be the message.

What? Too late? Red thought. I overslept!

Red's house was considered large by Kanto standards. The entire upper floor was the common bed room of Red, Brock, his mom and their servant Mr. Mime. The lower floor was a combined living room and kitchen, the Kantonese preferring to watch TV while eating. The house was that of someone rich, or at least someone with enough money to afford it; most other houses are simply one floor and not as large, people preferring to simply sleep on the couch or on the floor. As for bathroom facilities, they were presumably in the basement; asking about the bathroom is considered to be a topic never brought up, and doing so is very inappropriate. This can lead to embarrassing situations for a guest who needs to do their natural needs.

Brock was still asleep, Red decided not to wake him up. Walking down the stairs, Red's mother was sitting by the dinner table and watching the news.

"Honey, come quick!" Mom said and gestured towards the TV. A grainy image of what appeared to be an enormous bird flew through the night skies. Sightings of legendary birds and other creatures had been very frequent the last couple of days. Perhaps they have something to do with the never-ending night, he thought. These reports were more interesting to him when they were few and far in-between, the frequency at the moment left him uninterested.

"It's been spotted near Pallet Town", Mom continued. Maybe it'll come to destroy us? There are some strange things going on right now, after all."

"Our experts estimate it is a Ho-Oh", the TV continued. "This Pokémon have no aggressive intentions against those who wish it no harm. It is a guardian of the skies, and known to be on a quest to find a trainer with a pure heart. It remains unclear whether that is a trait of a sapient being or just a part of their mating ritual…"

"I suppose that answers my question", Mom said uneasily. Red wondered what the Ho-Oh did to sustain itself. The whole finding a pure trainer business must be exhausting, and a creature with that metabolism must no doubt need a lot of food. Maybe it preyed on those Pokémon, or people, whose amount of purity was not necessarily huge. That kind of deters some of the romantic notions about the beast, Red mused.

"Also, before I forget, your PokéGear has been repaired and returned", Mom added and handed Red some sort of electronic device which had a slight resemblance to a cell phone. "You remember how to use it, right? Just-"

Yes, Red thought, wearily. Mom was in one of those moods. Why is the PokéGear broken in the first place.

"Mr. Mime had one of his aggressive fits. Ever since your father left us…" Mom tried to keep her tears away. Red had managed to bring up a sensitive subject. Not only did the Ketchum household miss him, they also had problems making means meet the ends now that he was gone. An awkward silence arose between the two.

The awkward silence was broken by Brock tumbling down the stairs, a string of expletives accompanying his fall. Red ran and got him up on his feet.

"No worries, I'm OK", Brock assured him. Ever since Brock had gone blind, he had had trouble navigating safely through the house, not to mention anywhere else. Brock had been Red's boyfriend for quite a while now. Red loved him very much, but he had staggering difficulty trying to take care of the big man. Brock had not yet come to terms with his blindness, and hadn't got used to it, either.

"Are you sure you're all right?" Mom said.

"I'm fine, Mrs. Ketchum", Brock assured her. "I got a phone call from Professor Oak. He wants to meet us. Are you ready to go, Red?"

Yes, Red thought.

Brock picked up some berries, stuffed them into his mouth, Mr. Mime rushing forward to dab his mouth with a napkin. This gesture annoyed Brock, and Mr. Mime was well aware of that.

"I'm ready, at least", Brock said. "Let's go."